Balance
by SgtPastulio
Summary: SetoxOC. With an important investors banquet ahead of him and no arm candy, Seto must flirt with disaster and the future of his company.


"… and our numbers are up one point six six percent from last quarter, sir, as I'm certain you are aware. Which is a hike, yes, but I know it's not exactly our standard here at KaibaCorp… But we do have our annual Investor's Banquet coming up, which will help to boost our advertising, and thus boost our numbers."

"Absolutely." Seto Kaiba nodded once, hands held behind his back as he stared out into the bright, sunny city of Domino. His cocky blue gaze stared right back at him in the tinted glass window. Another day, another meeting to attend to. Most of these meetings involved him re-allocating a metric ton of money and being bored near to tears. He was already counting down the minutes until his staff would leave him alone.

"There will be a handful of very important investors at this banquet… one of which being the CEO of HB Toys…"

"Who is a very very important person to impress; Hamano and I have been in correspondence for over a month now." Seto rolled his eyes into the window. They had about four minutes to finish up before paychecks began getting docked.

"Yes…" The assistant nodded his head, flipping through notes on his clipboard. "Well, as you'll know, HB Toys is a company that is rich in family values… and has been in business through six generations…"

"_And_?"

The assistant swallowed thickly, but Isono cleared his throat before the younger man could begin. "Sir, Hamano is interested in partnering with a company who shares the same values as they do. So long as you can demonstrate that you are indeed a family-forward man, you can cinch the partnership."

"So I'll bring Mokuba."

"That wasn't the sort of family they were thinking of, Sir."

Seto turned from the window, eyebrow raised high. "What _were_ they thinking, Isono?"

"Sir, you are about marrying age now, and—"

"And what would you want me to do about that, Isono?" Seto leveled him with a stony gaze.

Isono paused, and Seto stared straight into his eyes. He was daring him to say something. Daring him to say what he knew he was suggesting. What Seto couldn't bear to hear, even though he knew it would be the only option. He hated when Isono was right. Just hated it. Which was likely why he kept him around.

"With all due respect, sir, and I realize this is none of my business… who are you sleeping with right now?"

Seto began to chuckle, unable to hold them in despite his best efforts. He shook his head, shooting Isono an incredulous look. "My dick has been dry for three months because that _goddamn babysitter_of Mokuba's is a filthy, cockblocking menace." He scowled at the thought of her, that _fucking_ woman. He hated that Mokuba liked her so much; it made her impossible to fire. She had a spitfire tongue and no brain-to-mouth filter, so whatever horrible jab she felt she should throw his way, he took at full force. She had no qualms about telling Seto just what she felt about him (loathing. At least the feeling was mutual.) and every girl he had attempted to bring home in the past three months.

The last encounter had been the worst of them all. The girl had been absolutely stunning, even by Seto's impossibly high standards. A Victoria's Secret angel hopeful. She had been in the KaibaCorp building modeling for a new card design, as incredulous as that sounded, and Seto had swooped in past the gaggle of artists drooling over her impossible curves and invited her to dinner. And then from dinner to his place. Where Mokuba and Ren, his younger brother's live-in nanny were playing video games in the living room.

He would probably never forget the look on her face. She had turned from the couch and met his gaze, the usual disdain creeping across her features. And then her eyes had landed on his companion and he had never seen her grin wider. Her gaze slid back to his face and he could see her stifle a laugh. "Howdy, Kaiba." She chirped, "You ready to get schooled at SSF4 again?"

Kaiba scowled at the brunette, before sending his date a reassuring glance. "Delusional. In any case, I'm a bit _occupied_ at the moment."

Ren glanced over her shoulder again. "Oh right." She turned her attention back to the television screen. "With your concubine."

Seto's face stayed steady. He shook his head at the nanny. "That doesn't bother Elissa."

She whipped her head around again, her brow furrowed. "'Elissa'?" She glanced at the taller woman on Seto's arm, looking her up and down. The woman met her with a bright gaze, her mouth sealed in a soft smile. Her dress was classy, but far from conservative; a little black strapless number that hit at about mid-thigh and hugged her curves in all the right places. On her feet was a pair of strappy Louboutin heels. Near impossible to acquire on this end of Asia. Her features were strong; full, pouty lips, big brown eyes and dark lashes, her nose a straight line in the dead center of her face. European.

"Where'd you find this guy, Elissa?" Ren quipped. The redheaded woman met her with a bright gaze and a friendly smile, her arms crossed in front of her with her handbag clutched in her hands. Ren's eyes widened and she shifted her attention back to her boss. Kaiba frowned.

"Seto!" She whispered excitedly, "She doesn't speak Japanese!"

Seto set his jaw and ran the back of his hand over his date's. "And? I speak English."

Ren's face lit up with glee and she threw her playstation controller down, shooting Mokuba, who had been watching amusedly, a wicked grin. She rose from the couch and sauntered around to the entryway. She unzipped the front of her hoodie, exposing an expanse of cleavage that, though it would never rival Elissa's, was always a welcome sight to Seto. She slid over to the pair on the polished hardwood floor and halted in front of her boss, laying her hands on his chest.

Seto had to admit, he hadn't resisted for very long. He had tensed just the slightest when her hand worked its way up to tangle in his hair, but he abandoned the endeavor completely when her lips touched his. He even turned his head to accommodate her, bending slightly to get more of those awful, horrible lips. This was a trap that Seto often found himself in, and he didn't think he would ever understand it. He absolutely hated Ren. Likely more than anyone else he would ever meet. And she hated him. He knew it. Mokuba knew it. Probably Elissa, who didn't even speak Japanese, was aware that they did not care for each other. But still, every once in a great while, they found themselves like this. Hands on one another in a manner much less violent than the norm.

They parted after a short while and Ren rested her head on Seto's chest, meeting his date's stunned gaze. "I'm _so_ glad you're home, _Sweetie_." Ren crooned in the best English Seto had ever heard from her. "I missed you."

Seto's face fell and Ren had a split second to duck before Elissa's handbag thudded heavily against the CEO's chest, a slew of incomprehensible English vulgarities pouring forth from her formerly prim mouth. Even Seto had a hard time distinguishing what exactly she was saying, until an undeniably perfect Japanese "YOU FUCKING SHITHEAD" spat from her lips.

Ren grinned wide, biting her bottom lip to contain her excitement as she watched. Seto tried in vain to calm his booty call, but she was too far gone. The American slammed the front door in his face, not before flipping him a dual bird. Seto exhaled angrily, reeling around to glare at Ren. She shrugged her shoulders. "Guess she wasn't down for a three-way."

"Three times, Kuroki."

"Hey, I'm just looking out for you, Kaiba. Herpes is incurable."

In two steps he was inches from her face, his icy blue eyes boring holes in her stern honey ones. "You need to stay out of my personal life, Kuroki." He hissed. "For the sake of your job. Mokuba would _not like it_ if you kept fucking around and got yourself fired."

Seto cast a glance at his brother, who nodded once, shrugging his shoulders. "It's true. I wouldn't like that."

Ren turned her gaze back to her boss, a dull, unamused look in her eyes. "You should not have kissed me then, if you didn't want to offend your date."

The words echoed angrily in his memory, bringing a scowl to his face. He met Isono's intense stare with one of his own, back in his office. His assistant's gaze softened to something more sympathetic. "Good luck, sir. If anyone can get a date, it's you." He nodded at the other men, who gradually took their leave from Seto's office. He glanced back at the CEO once more. "Bring someone impressive."

The door slammed behind Isono and Seto ground his teeth, fighting the urge to flip his desk over. "_Right_."

Thanks for reading! Critique is encouraged; I'm always trying to improve myself.


End file.
